Starry Nights
by Kuvaisruler
Summary: A story of a tiefling paladin and an extra-planar druid
1. Starry Nights

Hello, one and all. This is my very first fic at the moment, but I am sure it will make a very good… um… train of thought derailed sweatdrop sorry… that happens a lot… any who, I finally got all 5 mirror shards in Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. Fun game. Elven female cleric, level 22 (or is it 23?), domains are Sun and Healing, deity is Lathander (I love following Lathander while playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends….), although I don't think having a deity really matters in NWN… but its still fun -. For those who don't know Silverdragon2488's lovely pokemon story, READ IT NOW! I created Kuvai, and silverdragon2488 and me have agreed to scan pics of Kaiyou, Yasille, Kuvai, and anyone else we can think of and post em on FFN. drools at the thought of getting the Ice Beam on Metroid Prime anyways, here it beginz!

_The air was hot and humid, unusual for that time of year. The forest was silent because of the heat, with the exception of a few cicadas calling out. The sun was shining between the leaves of the Neverwinter Woods, casting an eerie glow across the forest floor. This is where one of the most powerful druids in the world resided. She guards this forest like it was her life, in which it practically is. Her name is Tomia. Tomia Leafrunner. A beautiful elven girl of 120, she stands at 5'5", weighing in at 110, as most elves do. Her long blonde hair shines in the sun like a torch revealing a dragon's stashed gold, and her ferocity matches that of a dragon, who has discovered intruders stealing its hoard. Her deep blue eyes meet others with an almost empty gaze, seemingly void of life. She takes no prisoners in battle, that is, if they pose a threat to her forest. Otherwise, she lets them go peacefully, just as long as they don't ever come back. She lets caravans through, of course, just as long as they don't take any shortcuts through the forest. Orphaned when she was 20, she had to survive on her own in the woods, all alone, and afraid. Her parents had led her onto the path of a Morninglord of Lathander, but due to recent events, she adopted the way of the druid. Over the years, she has discovered which herbs and plants are best left alone, and which ones can be eaten. She has discovered a great many natural cures for many known and unknown diseases, not to mention being able to grow a healthy supply of medicinal herbs to keep up with the demand. She recently discovered a rogue band of satyrs, who threatened to take over Port Llast. She dispatched them immediately, acquiring the help from the local woodland creatures to determine their base. Storming in with the unyielding fury of a raging hydra, she slaughtered them one by one, until none was left standing. Despite her prowess in battle, she prefers to work alone. "Aye, she's a beauty alright. But if'n some uptight man even lays a hand on her, she whips around faster than the eye can see and cleaves it right off! At the local tavern the other day, one handsome young noble human decided he had the right to start flirtin' with her, right there in front of everyone! She asked him real nice and all to leave her alone, but the damned guy was just too persistent. Y'see, she gets irritated quite easily, unfortunately for all them males out there wishin' to take her hand in marriage that don't know that. Anywho, she gets right up, turns around and faces the poor man, who is now cowering on the floor, an' her eyes just start glowing! Aye, they were glowing all right, brightest blue ya ever did see. Then a giant thorny root comes up from the tavern floor, wraps itself around the poor man, who had already wet his pants at that moment, and the root throws him clear out the door! Aye, twas a sight for these sore old eyes indeed. I 'aven't laughed so hard ever since my little brother mistook rotten swamp sludge for ale!" a local dwarf commented. Despite her trouble with the local men, she is known to be a quite compassionate person. She is often found at the local temple giving out blessings of nature in return for a bit of food. She has access to all of the nine Hells (due to recent events), but that doesn't necessarily mean she is evil. She is of the Lawful Good alignment instead. "She may enforce the laws of nature, but she sure doesn't act like it. She stays silent and quiet, never uttering a sound unless someone asks her a reasonable question, like, 'Where can I find some medicinal herbs?' and the like. For directions, she just points to the location, or shows 'em if it's too far away or confusing to get to," a visiting human female added. _

Suddenly Tomia shut the book she was reading, disgusted with what that pesky bard said about her. Even more amazing was that he actually KNEW where she had been in recent times (the Hells). The night air soon soothed her temper, bringing with it the sounds of crickets and night birds calling to each other. Tomia tossed the book on a pile of logs, and then used her Flame Lash spell to catch the whole thing on fire. Sitting underneath her favorite tree, she was guarding the last remnants of an almost-extinct herb used for curing a very fatal disease. She put herself in charge of its growth and nourishment, making sure it never ran out, for it was rumored to be the last supply left in all of Toril. Yawning heavily, she gazed back into the fire and watched the book burn to a crisp.

Jachal Sane walked into the local tavern, hoping someone had an idea as to where this so-called "miracle herb was" so he could heal a priest. The 123-year-old elven paladin took a seat at a vacant table, disgusted by the goings-on around him. "hic Hey fellash! Take a look a' thish hic. Itsh a girly elf!" Jachal turned around and noticed a group of drunks looking at him. "It's a custom for my family to wear their hair shoulder-length with connecting braids in the back. If you have a problem with it, then I suggest you leave or go find another table." Jachal stated patiently. "Hohoho! A shpicy one too! hic Whaddya shay we give 'im a haircut, boysh?" another drunk at the table piped up. Grunting in glee, the group stood up from their table (with much difficulty, I might add) and surrounded Jachal, unsheathing their daggers as they did. "You are making a very bad mistake, my friend." Jachal said. One of the drunks then lashed out with his dagger at Jachal's throat. In a flash, Jachal had drawn out his greatsword and cleaved off the drunk's arm. "AIEEEEEEEEE!" the drunk screamed in pain. Then the rest of the drunks piled on top of Jachal in an attempt to cleave off his head. Jachal struggled under the weight of the men and their foul breath, but he didn't have the strength to throw them off. Just then a badger, of all things, bit the butt of the lead drunk. Roaring in pain and frustration, he turned to attack the critter, but missed repeatedly due to his drunken state and the badger's quickness. The badger then scrambled up the lead drunk's pant leg and began to bite ferociously. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" the man screamed. That turned the attention of the other drunks, who left Jachal and began to attack the lead drunk in a vain attempt to kill the animal. Instead, they killed each other, only because their accuracy wasn't very good. The badger then crawled out from under the pile of drunken bodies and looked up at Jachal. Jachal stared back, obviously surprised at the scene which unfolded before his own eyes. Then a brilliant white light suddenly surrounded the badger, and when the light disappeared, an elven girl was standing in its place. "Are you all right, sir paladin?" the girl asked. Jachal was surprised. He had never seen a druid before, heard about them, yes, but never encountered them. "Uh, yes, I'm quite fine, except for a few scratched here and there, I'm okay… I think…" Jachal replied, unsure of how to put his words. The corners of the druid's mouth curved p a little, forming a hint of a smile. "My name is Tomia. And who might you be?"

"My name? Uh, it's Jachal Sane, paladin in the service of Tyr."

"Tyr, eh? I have heard a lot about the Maimed God, but never before have I encountered a paladin in his service who could not take care of himself in such a simple bar room brawl."

Jachal's cheeks suddenly went red with embarrassment. In truth, he wasn't a very good fighter, preferring to avoid conflicts instead of tackling them head-on. Tomia looked back at the pile of drunken bodies, and back at Jachal. "If you were a true paladin, you would have taken care of them single-handedly, but since I had to save you, thus exposing my identity, you must promise me this: never go into the Neverwinter Woods. At all. Evil lurks in there, and you would be wise to avoid the woods, lest starving trolls tear you apart limb from limb," Tomia said coldly. Jachal suddenly became worried. If such danger was in the woods, then how could he retrieve those herbs for the priest? Tomia then turned into a panther, scaring Jachal, and bolted out the door. Jachal was left in utter confusion. Then his bravery overcame him. It didn't matter what kind of foul creatures there were in the woods, he MUST go find those herbs, even if he died trying.

Okay? Yes? No? Maybe? Grovel's head hurts… hehehe, sorry. This be me first fic here, and I hope it is okay to all of you NWN freaks out there, like me (YEAH! GO NWN! WOOT!). hehehe… trapped in the Hells, I am now… boo. Evil cold place I am in right now… stupid imp for getting his arm purposely stuck in Grinder 5 >- . GO LIMBO!


	2. Something New

Hello again! I experiment a lot on Hordes, and I am currently trying to make the ultimate Blackguard, and no one help me on this. My dream is to create a spellcaster that is very, very hard to kill. My cleric can kill wizards really easy (dinged 24!), thanks to her Greater Dispell… I think that's what it is called… and if that doesn't work, then out goes my Magic circle against Evil, and out comes my Balor smiles evilly. So, yes, I have a wizard/pale master too, but… well… things aren't going well. I know spellcasters are supposed to be weaker than the combat classes, but still, it would help if you had a tanking spellcaster, able to get right in the middle and use Firestorm and the like. So, here is the next part of my fic! ENJOY!

Jachal stood at the entrance to the Neverwinter Woods, unsure of how to explore it. The woods were large, and Jachal had no idea what kinds of monsters were lurking in there. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the darkness. His mind flashed back to the scene at the bar. "Evil lurks in there…" Tomia had said. But exactly what KIND of evil, he didn't know. After walking for about an hour, something in a tree caught his eye, but when he turned to look, all was still. Then he noticed the base of the tree. The rare herbs that he needed were growing there. What luck, he though to himself. As he approached the tree, another shadow caught his left eye. Again he turned, but nothing was there. Must be all the trees, he thought. He stooped over the plant, and as he was reaching out for the leaves, five giant roots came up from the ground, two wrapping his arms, two his legs, and the other encircled his waist, pinning him to the tree. Jachal struggled against the plant, but to no avail. As soon as he found out there was no way to remove himself from his bonds, he gave up. Minutes turned into hours as Jachal hung there, until a quite familiar shadow caught his eye once more. He looked above him, and down came Tomia, hanging upside down in front of his face. "I warned you about the woods, but it seems that even a good paladin cannot seem to listen to a wise woman's words." Tomia said.

"Release me at once, foul druid!" Jachal shouted. Tomia only slightly smiled in response. "And WHY should I release you? You were about to kill an almost-extinct plant." Jachal's anger began to rise. "I NEED those leaves! A priest is sick, and I have been chosen to retrieve the medicine for him!"

Tomia then dropped down from the tree, landing on her feet in front of Jachal. "Is that all you need? The leaves from a plant that can, as they say, cure any disease what-so-ever? Truth be told, it only makes it dormant. For later, the disease will again rise up to torment its victim, until the host dies and the disease moves on to claim another. This plant is almost extinct now, because of what the alchemists have figured out, which is what I just told you. It would be better to end the priest's life now, rather than later. Plus, it would be extremely costly to make so many vials of the 'miracle medicine' to keep one going for the rest of his or her life." Tomia pointed out. Jachal was stunned. "So… what you are saying is… they sent me out here for nothing, aware of the dangers I would face…"

"And hoping that you would never return, yes." Tomia finished. Jachal's face was in pure shock. He had always been rejected wherever he went, due to the fact that he had demonic blood in his family. But this was almost too much. Here he was, being cared for, fed, and all he ever gets in return for their kindness was a hope that he would get himself killed, looking for a faulty plant that could not cure any disease, as he so thought. Jachal hung his head in shame, fighting back the tears. Suddenly the roots imprisoning him released their hold, and he fell to the ground. Jachal soon got a hold of himself and brought himself to his feet. No one will ever take me in now, he thought to himself. Tomia sensed his plight, and put a kind hand on his shoulder. "Jachal… I can sense the demonic blood in you veins… to tell you the truth, I share a similar curse…" Tomia told Jachal in an effort to comfort him. Jachal slapped away Tomia's hand, and she jerked back in surprise. "YOU think you know how what it's like? To be rejected wherever you go, just because your great-great grandfather was a demon? Pah! You know nothing!"

Tomia was taken aback at first, but then she returned to normal (whatever normal is for her). Jachal looked up, tears welling in his eyes, and saw nothing. He got up quickly and looked around, surprised at Tomia's sudden disappearance. He then noticed the note on the ground. Picking it up, he read," All's fair in love and war, tiefling. Come if you must, for evil shall never triumph against a half-deva!" Suddenly Jachal's blood began to boil and rage filled his eyes. All this time she was a half-deva in disguise! How DARE she conceal herself from one of demonic blood! (Note to readers: Jachal can transform into a demonic-like being, complete with wings and claws and the like, and Tomia can turn deva-like, with angelic wings and such.) Then Jachal began to turn rather… demonic, despite the fact he was a paladin. Now sporting wings, claws, and horns, he took to the skies in search of the prey his kind feasted upon. Soon he saw her: angelic wings glittering in the sunlight, long white hair flowing behind her, but she was quite different from a full-blooded deva, being of deva and elven lineage. Sensing his approach, Tomia whirled around and fired a Flame Lash at him. Jachal dodged it, but not before he ran smack dab into the side of a cliff. He revived his momentum on a sudden updraft and soared back into action, only to find out his prey had disappeared. Landing on top of the cliff, he gazed around, fully alert, but somehow never noticed the figure lurking behind him. Suddenly a sickle caught him upside the head, sending him spiraling back down the cliff face again. Grabbing onto a ledge to save himself, he drew his own greatsword, now strong enough to wield it with one arm. Using the sword as kind of a grappling device, he slowly pulled himself back up the face of the cliff, only to be face-to-face with a ferocious-looking dire wolf. Beyond the wolf, however, stood the figure of Tomia, looking away from Jachal. Suddenly Tomia spoke, her voice ringing with slight disturbance. "I offer people help and they attack me. It was only a matter of time before you found out I was half-deva." Tomia said. Jachal's rage still had the better of him, and as he vaulted up the face of the cliff, swatting aside Tomia's animal companion in the process, Tomia turned around, casting an Entangle spell on the ground in front of her. Jachal had nowhere to go, he was stuck until the spell wore off. Then Tomia gazed into Jachal's eyes with pity. Her eyes still shown a brilliant blue, only they were full of life. Tomia suddenly smiled as Jachal fought with his demonic side. Finally Jachal's rage had worn off, as his paladin side returned, unwilling to kill a creature of beauty and good (unfortunately, once Tomia and Jachal transform into their half-counterparts, it takes them a good while to transform back). Jachal let out a sigh of relief, and then collapsed to the ground from loss of blood, due to the lovely wound the sickle gave him in the side of his head. Tomia and Jachal both transformed back at that moment, their energy both drained from the battle. Tomia rummaged around in her pack for bandages, as Jachal's vision went dark…

It was morning again when Jachal woke up. He found himself up in a tree, cradled between a few large branches. He started to rise, but the pain from his head kept him down. Growling in frustration, he rose up slowly this time. After he got his bearings, he looked around for Tomia. Again, he found another note. This time it read:

Gone to Port Llast for food. Be back soon.

-Tomia

_Why was Tomia suddenly being so nice to me, even when I am a tiefling?_ Jachal wondered. Then his slow brain finally kicked in: she was half-deva, meaning she was of a Good alignment. Sighing in frustration at his lack of intelligence, he began to work his way down the tree. Then another thought hit him as he shimmied down: why were her eyes blue instead of the usual green? Was it a genetic defect, or something more? Suddenly Jachal lost his grip and tumbled down the tree. What he didn't know was that Tomia was climbing UP the tree at that same moment. The two collided and tumbled down to the ground, Tomia landing face-down on the ground and Jachal landing on her back. "Heheh, um… sorry about that, Tomia. I lost my grip." Jachal explained as Tomia slowly pushed herself up from the ground. "Some elf you are…" she grumbled.

"Hey, at least I apologized!" Jachal shot back.

"Yeah, you also nearly broke my back, too. If I wasn't wearing this half-plate armor I picked up in town, you would be dead by now at the hands of nature."

Jachal smiled uneasily. _If she's of the good alignment, then how come she acts more like a Neutral person?_ Jachal wondered. Of course, he didn't know the answer to that question, but he was sure he would find out someday.

WOOT! Ch. 2 iz done! Wow… seems all my chapters are short…oh well. Can someone help me with the final Guardian of the Path? My clerical lady (27) cant seem to hit him enough, though his spell resistance often kills my tactics…maybe I should consider learning Greater Dispell… again. Sorry, im more offensive than defensive, so yeah… another chappie is coming soon! STAY TUNED!


	3. Dragon Problems

AN- Heyas all again! I still have no idea why the asterisks won't show up on the posted copy, but I am pretty sure you know where they go… anywho, I played a mod I downloaded a while back… The Dark Ranger's Treasure… fun fun. Gotta love the dragon armor. Making my own mod right now, but can't figure out how the heck to make the journal entries update by themselves…need help here. Thank you two people for submitting your reviews, I really appreciate it! Yes, Tomia was a lot of fun thinking up… In Jachal's case, he was a human paladin I played with for a bit on the NWN original campaign, but for the story's sake, I changed the race. Hmm… I am currently stuck on Metroid Prime…no idea where to go next… I have the charge beam, charge beam combo, wave beam (and its combo), 3 balls (ball, spider ball, ball bombs), the Varia suit, 60 missiles, the infrared visor thing, and nothing else yet … I think… so yeah, I get to fart around on it for no reason while the scanner update thing informs me of things I already know about… (Abnormal temperatures detected…) so, as Mario says, HERE WE GO!

Tomia was tending to an injured basilisk when she noticed Jachal staring at her. "What?" she asked. Jacal shrugged and looked away, pretending to be interested in a mushroom on a log. Tomia shook her head and went back to mending the basilisk's leg. "Tomia?" Jachal asked.

"Yes?"

"Why are your eyes a deep blue instead of green?"

"Because."

"Because…"

"They just are."

Jachal sighed in frustration. He had asked her that question at least 5 times that morning, and all he got was that same answer. Jachal walked over and sat in the shade of a rather large elm tree. Tomia finished bandaging the basilisk's leg, and as she was putting the leftover bandages in her pack, she froze. Jachal looked in the direction her gaze was in. Something big was in the shadows, and it seemed to be looking directly at her. Then horror crept over Jachal's face as he saw the outline of an ancient Green dragon, eyeing Tomia with rage. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU FOOLISH DRUID TO STAY WAY FROM MY WOODS?" the dragon suddenly roared. It charged at Tomia, but she was seemingly uninjured after being trampled. Tomia got to her feet in time to avoid the dragon's powerful feet. Panting heavily, she scampered up a nearby tree, hoping to get out of range of the dragon. Jachal sensed that she had never encountered a dragon before, let alone fought one. Jachal drew his greatsword and charged at the beast, only to be swept aside by the dragon's long tail. He slammed into a giant boulder, going unconscious. "Jachal!" Tomia screamed. Then the dragon's attention returned to the druid. Sneering at her, he snarled," No one can help you now, druid. You are at my mercy!" He fired his breath weapon up the tree towards Tomia. Tomia jumped out of the tree, and for a second she seemed to be flying without the usage of wings. Even the dragon was startled as Tomia landed softly in the branches of the elm tree Jachal was sitting under moments earlier. The dragon was just about to charge the tree to knock Tomia down when Jachal came to his senses. Seeing what was about to happen, he picked up his greatsword and again charged the dragon, plunging the sword into the scaly back of the Green. The dragon screeched in pain and reeled back, away from Tomia's tree. Jachal had no other weapons on him: he would have to defeat the beast single-handedly. The dragon thrust forward his head in an attempt to devour Jachal, but missed horribly due to the pain of the sword and its acid-covered blade. Jachal then made a daring move: he leapt onto the back of the dragon and held on tightly to its neck as the dragon attempted to throw him off. The dragon succeeded, throwing Jachal towards another giant boulder (AN- poor Jachal…). As Jachal neared the giant rock, he suddenly felt intense heat around his waist as a Flame lash encircled him and pulled him down to the ground in front of the boulder. He looked over at Tomia in strange amazement: Flame Lash could not be manipulated like that. So if it wasn't a Flame Lash, then what exactly did she do? Tomia pointed to the ground a few yards off: there was Jachal's greatsword, dislodged from the dragon's back. Jachal took off running, but the dragon beat him to the weapon. Standing over it, blood trickling from his mouth, the dragon was weary from blood loss, but still had enough energy to fight. Then Jachal ran towards the dragon, and in a flash he was under its giant underside, grabbing his sword and thrusting it up into the dragon's belly. The dragon howled in pain and collapsed on top of Jachal, dead. Tomia stared at the place where Jachal once stood, not believing that Jachal was able to puncture the dragon's hide with his lacking strength. Even more amazing was the fact that Jachal's intelligence seemed to have risen to abnormal levels in a normal paladin. _Perhaps there is something more to Jachal than meets the eye_, she thought. Suddenly the carcass moved, and Tomia jumped back, sickle in hand. Out from under the body crawled poor Jachal, drenched in draconic blood and innards, not looking too happy. Tomia, holding her nose, said," Go wash up, you reek." Jachal glared at her, then took a piece of dragon liver and threw it at her. "Some help you were!" he shot back angrily.

"Well, I'm a druid, and the dragon was a beast of the wild."

"And your point is?"

"You're a paladin. You have the liberty to kill things as evil as a green dragon. I cannot."

Jachal's face turned to a point of blank frustration. Tomia smiled triumphantly and leapt up a tree. Jachal's gaze followed her as she leapt from tree to tree like a monkey of some sort. As soon as Tomia left his line of sight, Jachal kicked the ground angrily and muttered bad things to himself and proceeded to a nearby stream to "wash up."

WOO! Another short one… wow. Eck…I know what it's like to be covered in blood… stupid sister throwing rocks… and over there, where that squirrel is… there was NOTHING! Tee hee… Invader Zim… well, been a nice week-long break and all, but now I gotta do this again… woo. Im hungry… wait, im always hungry. Eh, well. I went skiing… everyone but me fell… I laughed. GO DURANGO COLORADO! WOOOT! Ah, the life of boredom… made a red dragon disciple/bard… fun fun… already rescued Halaster in one day when it used to take me 5 cuz of skool and shtuff. Anyways, new chappie coming soon, so STAY TUNED! (or else)


	4. The Journey Back

Heya peoples again! Yeah, I rushed the last chapter a bit… the thing is, I work on this stuff while in class, so, yeah, you get the drift (I think). So, here I am, sitting at my comp, listening to the teacher drone on about databases. And im typing this too:) I think my teacher is getting annoyed at me lol… yes, Deekin rox! Im failing English right now…I cant do essays :P. Currently working on a Blackguard with kick-arse armor (I love the item wizard in the toolset thing…). So far, so good. and no, Jachal isn't very intelligent… I purposely made him that way :D ( - 4 eyed smiley face…)

The morning sun broke through the trees, lighting up the forest in a peaceful luminance. Jachal was packing and loading up on supplies. "Where are you going?" Tomia asked. He looked up at her calmly and simply stated, "I'm going home." Tomia looked a bit surprised, then asked why. "Simple." Jachal said. "I have to report my findings about the so called 'miracle herb.'" Tomia nodded in agreement, and then went back to her previous activities. Lots of things were running through Jachal's head as he packed up, like_ What will the clergy's reaction be if I return empty handed?_ and more unnecessary things like _When's breakfast?_ Other than that, he was worried about how the clergy would treat his return. He looked up at Tomia, who was examining an old oak tree, and an idea popped into his head. _What if I invite Tomia along so I can show her I have control over my demonic side?_ He then noticed that Tomia was looking at him strangely, then he jerked his head back to his pack. "You want me to come with you, correct?" Jachal was surprised by the question Tomia asked. It was as if she was reading his mind!

"You can read minds!" He sputtered.

"No… call it 'animal sense.'" Tomia smiled.

Tomia walked over and laid her hand on Jachal's shoulder, very much startling him.

"Jachal… I know you have some control over your demonic heritage, but not enough control. It shows when you're fighting and when you get irritated. To tell the truth, I must constantly keep check over my 'good' side. As of now, I really have this strong urge to remove you from the face of Toril, but since you are on the path of a paladin, I really can't do that."

Jachal sighed. She was speaking the truth. The demonic blood inside his veins was screaming for bloodshed, and it took all of his willpower to drown it out. It was also getting worse. He would have hellish nightmares where he was completely destroying the forest, mercilessly killing any who got in his way. He would wake up in a cold sweat, and Tomia just told him to go back to sleep.

"However…you do have SOME control." Tomia said reassuringly. "After all, during the battle on the cliff-side, you managed to stop yourself from attacking me. Plus, you're not attacking me now."

Jachal looked up at Tomia and smiled a bit, then tied his pack up and hoisted it on his back. "You ready?" he asked Tomia. She nodded, and the pair began to walk out through the woods.

The road to Targos is a long and harsh one. It cuts through the Spine of the World, a long mountain range famous for its harsh winters and hard times in the past. A week after the pair left Port Llast, the arrived in the humble fishing village of Easthaven. Half-frozen, they stumbled into the Winter's Cradle Tavern and took a seat at a table closest to the fireplace. The few people in the tavern looked at the pair with awe. It HAD been at least 10 years since anyone clad in armor walked into that tavern. A large half-orc, who was sitting at the bar, glared at the outsiders. Grisella, the tavern owner, walked up to the weary travelers. "Bit o' bad weather you ran into, dearies? You southerners are all the same. You don't know how to survive the cold," she chuckled. Jachal smiled wearily, and Tomia was fast asleep. "There be no sleeping in here, dearies, this is a tavern. Your girlfriend will need to go to Quimby's if she wants to sleep. If she drools on my table, then I'm making the both of ya clean this place up!" Grisella scowled. Jachal elbowed Tomia and she sat upright quite abruptly.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's a companion of mine." Jachal told the plump woman.

"Aye, that's what they all say. Then they fall in love." Grisella laughed.

"It wouldn't work out, anyways. I'm half-diva and he's half… " Tomia paused, knowing that if she said that Jachal was half-demon, the town would be after him with torches and pitchforks, not that they would do any good. Grisella nodded solemly, then walked back to the half-drunk half-orc and scolded him for spitting on her floors. "Smart thinking," Jachal told Tomia. "I wouldn't want to…lose control." Tomia nodded and looked over the strange beverages on the wall of the tavern, unsure of what to drink, even more unsure of how much to drink. Jachal went up to the bar, where Grisella was now chasing off the drunken half-orc with a broom, and took a seat. "What do ya want, dearie?" Grisella sighed. "Has a small group been through here a while ago? Six people? An elven male bard, a male dwarven warrior, a female half-elven druid, a male halfling rogue, a female human priest, and a…female human paladin?" Jachal paused at the mention of the last group member. Grisella's face went blank, like she was thinking. "Aye, they did, dearie. Ten years ago, just about. They came here looking for glory and fortune. The old mayor of Easthaven, Hrothgar, recruited them on a mission to save Kuldahar from some evil. They got caught in an avalanche, from what I've heard. Apparently, the six survived and cleansed the place of evil." Grisella said. Jachal sighed in relief, then noticed the figure sitting beside him and jumped up in surprise. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" he yelled. Tomia smiled and replied, "You underestimate the sneakiness. So, you seemed worried about the female human paladin." Jachal stared at her. "You're good." Tomia laughed and ordered a drink. Grisella, on the other hand, was busy trying to keep the still-drunk half-orc from hurling on her floors. Jachal took the opportunity to tell Tomia the truth why he was so worried about the human paladin. "Tomia… the paladin… was my mother. She left twenty years ago to help Kuldahar with her band of friends, who were all good-hearted. She disappeared shortly after I was born, so I naturally got curious as to where she ran off to. Maybe it was the fact that the forces of darkness had defiled her. Maybe it was the thought of having a son who would constantly fight with his inner demon. I really couldn't tell you the truth." Tomia stared at him, unsure of what to say. Finally she spoke up. "Let's get moving. A local druid told me there was a fierce snowstorm on the way. I doubt we would want to get caught in that." Jachal nodded and started to get up. "Dearies, wait just a moment. Was the dwarf in yer mum's party named Deral Axeswinger?" Grisella piped up.

"Yes, he was… why do you ask?" Jachal replied.

"Then you're in luck, dearie. He is the current mayor of Easthaven, returned but a year ago to lead this town. Go and see him, he's just a couple doors west of here. Good luck findin' yer mum, dearie!" Grisella smiled.

With hope in his heart, Jachal burst out the door, with Grisella yelling at him for letting the cold in, and bolted down the snowy pathway. He clambered up the steps of a decently built wooden house and pounded on the door. "Just a moment, you. Have patience when it comes to an old dwarf like me," A muffled voice came from inside. The door opened and a rugged dwarf with brownish-gray hair stared up at Jachal. "Well now, what can I do for ye, lad?" Deral asked.

"You…did you know someone by the name of Sianna Sane? Please, she was my mother." Jachal said frantically. The dwarf's features hardened, then relaxed. "Aye, I traveled with her twenty-odd years ago. What do ye want to know, lad. I've business to attend to."

"Please, where did she disappear to?"

The dwarf looked around, then back at Jachal. "Come on in, lad. I don't know much about what happened to her, other than she was sucked into a strange vortex-type thing while we were in Dorn's Deep, but I'll tell ye all I can."

And so Delan Axeswinger, second-in-command of the adventuring group by the name of Evil's Bane, told Jachal the chilling story of what happened to his mother. Searching for the source behind the attacks at Kuldahar, the group helped a king's spirit lay at rest in the Vale, battling many powerful undead in the process. Then they headed for Dragon's Eye, a cavern known to harbor may reptilian-like creatures. After recovering the Heartstone Gem, they took it to the Archdruid to help them discover the source of the evil. Unfortunately, the real Archdruid was upstairs, slowly dying. In his last breath, he told them to take it to the ancient elven fortress that was known as the Severed Hand, in hopes that a mage there could help them. Battling their way through the ghosts of hundreds of orcs and goblins, they eventually made it to the mage. Repairing his astrolabe, the mage finally was able to divine the source of the evil. And so they headed to Dorn's Deep, and old dwarven dwelling. Battling through countless Orogs and even a few Drow, Sianna stumbled upon ancient runes etched into the ground. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she deciphered them, a portal was flung open and sucked Sianna right into it. They never saw her again.

As Jachal and Tomia went to the inn for the night until the storm had passed, Tomia left Jachal alone to dwell upon his thoughts. She thought it was for the best. Later that night, someone knocked on Tomia's door. "Tomia… I want to talk to you." Jachal's muffled voice said. Tomia opened the door and invited him in. He sat on her bed and asked," Did you ever know any of your parents?"

"No. No I didn't. Apparently they died trying to protect me from some fiendish creature, but I really can't recall what they looked like or anything. Are you okay?" Tomia replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wondering whether I'll meet my mother or…father first, that's all." Jachal replied with a sigh. Tomia came and sat next to him. "Jachal… I know how hard it is to be in your position. If you want, I do have access to the Hells, if you want to look for your mother." Jachal looked up at her. "Thanks, but not yet. I have things to do first," he smiled.

Short chappies do me good lol… well, hope you like this one, so new one coming soon!


	5. Tears of the Underground Part One

Hi! Im glad you all like it! I just wish more people would review : ( … I still appreciate it nonetheless! I always get sleepy during my English and construction tech class (for those of you who don't know, I'm a girl)…yesterday I fell asleep during construction and woke up to find out that I had almost missed the bus back to school! (construction class is off-campus)… I still cant figure out why the smiley faces and symbol thingies aren't showing up… So yeah, I need to find something to keep me awake during the day… Dayquil wont really work, im kinda immune to those things…anyways, heres the next part, which involves the…soft sides of both of em…woot.

Five days after the pair left Easthaven, they were caught up in a vicious snowstorm that the druid obviously hadn't foreseen; purposely or not, they didn't know. Tomia sensed the coming storm forehand and stocked up on winter survival gear.

"The storm's getting worse – we need to find shelter now!" Tomia yelled over the screaming wind.

"But where? There's nothing nearby!" Jachal shouted back.

Tomia glanced around, trying to peer through the blinding snow. "There! A cave!" she pointed out. The pair made their way hurriedly through the vicious storm and made it to the entrance. Shoving their frozen gear off their shoulders, they gathered what little timber they could and managed to start a mediocre fire. After the pair had defrosted themselves, they noticed their surroundings.

"This is an unusual cave," Tomia stated. "There are practically no natural cave formations anywhere in here."

Jachal looked around. Tomia was right; there were no stalactites or stalagmites anywhere, however, there were some signs of recent inhabitants living there.

"What do you say we go and explore this cave as soon as my sword is unfrozen from its sheath?" Jachal asked slyly. Tomia nodded and held her sickle closer to the fire, as did Jachal with his greatsword, to warm it up.

Tomia pulled out two unused torches and handed one to Jachal. They lighted them with the sparks of the dying fire, and then began their trek down the glistening cave. Tomia held her torch up high to get a better look at the ceiling of the cave. "Jachal," she whispered. "The ceiling of the cave… it's unstable. Any loud noise could upset it, causing it to crash down upon us." Jachal glanced up nervously and also noticed the crumbling ceiling. Trying not to think about what would happen if one of them sneezed or something, they continued down the tunnel. They came to a room, apparently carved by Umber Hulks according to Tomia, that was covered in glistening blue crystals.

"Whoa," Jachal said silently. "What kind of rock is this?"

Tomia examined one large crystal visually, then reached her hand out to touch it. A blast of energy emanated from the crystal, coursed throughout her body, then threw her against the far side of the cave. The noise slightly upset the ceiling as small rocks and debris came falling down, but it wasn't much of an upset, as the whole thing didn't come crashing down. Jachal hurried over to Tomia, who lay groaning.

"Damnable crystals… should have known… they were-" Tomia's sentence was cut off by the sound of rapid digging. A large group of Umber Hulks, about twenty of them, burst through the walls of the cave, all turning their gaze upon the dazed Tomia and surprised Jachal. As the Umber Hulks swarmed in, Jachal heard a loud grunt behind him. He turned to face a large dire tiger, but Tomia was nowhere to be found. However, Jachal did notice that this particular tiger was badly wounded in the areas where Tomia was struck. The new arrival let out a roar and charged at the other Umber Hulks, slaughtering the confused behemoths where they stood. Breathing heavily, the victorious tiger turned around and stared at Jachal, then collapsed on the ground. A green light enveloped the beast, and then went away, showing Tomia, badly injured, lying facedown on the ground. Raising her head wearily, she smiled and said," Oh, I forgot to…tell you…I'm part shifter also…" then collapsed. Jachal picked up her limp body and carried her over to the far side of the cave and began to tend to her wounds. A few hours passed, in that time Jachal fought off numerous Umber Hulks curious as to what happened to their brothers and sisters. Then things took a turn for the worst as the ground trembled beneath Jachal's feet. Suddenly a large rock golem burst through a wall of the cavern. The golem turned its empty gaze towards Jachal, let loose a roar, and charged at him. Jachal had no time to react as the golem's stony fist connected with Jachal's stomach, launching him high into the air. He would have kept on going had it not been for the ceiling of the cave, which his body connected with the dropped back down to the floor. At about this time, however, Tomia woke up. The first thing she saw was Jachal's limp body on the floor, not moving or breathing. Then she noticed the rock golem as it reached down to pick her up. She struck its hand with her sickle, but it unfortunately shattered upon impact. The golem tried to grab her again, but this time she had changed into a badger and hid between the giant golem's legs. It took a while before the golem noticed that she was between its legs, but then its foot came crashing down on Tomia. As the golem lifted its foot, it discovered that nothing was there. It awkwardly looked at the bottom of its foot to see if she had stuck there, but once again, nothing was there. The golem looked around the room in search of the enemy that had eluded it. It looked at the ground and noticed feathers. White feathers from something with large wings. The golem didn't have time to look up before Tomia, in her deva-form, came crashing down on the golem with a giant, glowing hammer. The golem's head was thoroughly smashed to pieces after the blow, but Tomia forgot to calculate where the golem would fall. It was tilting down towards Jachal. Reacting quickly and not fearing for her life, she swooped down and shoved Jachal's body out of the way as the golem's body came crashing down upon her.

Jachal woke up with a severe pain in his gut, barely remembering what happened. He looked around the cave in front of him, wondering where the golem went. "Ja…chal…" a faint voice whispered behind him. He whirled around to see Tomia, half-crushed under the weight of the golem's body, having a really hard time breathing. "TOMIA!" Jachal yelled and ran over to her. He grabbed the golem from underneath and struggled to lift it. His fingers slipped and the golem's full weight once again came crashing down upon Tomia, who screamed when it hit, not to mention coughing up blood. Jachal tried again, this time managing to lift it and throw it off her mangled body. Jachal rushed to Tomia's side and tried to pick her up. "Aahhhh! Please no!" Tomia screamed. So Jachal just held her hand as she lay there, coughing up more blood. "Tomia…" Jachal started, right before a hoard of Umber Hulks poured in through the hole the rock golem made, among them was a larger and more powerful-looking Umber Hulk. The "leader" pushed through the screaming crowd of beasts and marched up to Jachal and Tomia. "Sho, yoush thinksh yoush elvens have won, eh? Shorry to break it to yoush, but shmashing one of our many rock golemsh ish not gonna win yoush the fight. Your friend ish sherioushly injured, and Ish thinksh we now have the upper hand," the Umber Hulk laughed. "CHAAARGE!" it roared out to its comrades. The Umber Hulks swarmed forward and Jachal's mind was suddenly filled with rage and sadness. He picked up his greatsword and began to lash out and the wave of beasts, killing them where they stood, but they just kept coming. Eventually Jachal would tire out, and even he knew this….

Ahh…cliffhangers… gotta luv em :D yeah, note the part one thing up there, people. It's starting to look good, me thinks. "What be this? Secret treasure room, maybe?" WHO SAID IT PEOPLE? It's the kobold we all know and love… DEEKIN:hugs Deekin: anyways, new chappie coming soon, so STAY TUNED or else ills end Deekin flying after you! (just kidding)


	6. Tears of the Underground Part 2

Hellos again! Love the reviews people! Ok, so finally some smiley face showed up on my posted copy…makes me happy. Hehe, I guessed as to how an Umber Hulk would talk, and for the both of my loyal reviewers, I can be evil when I want. So ill probably be making an evil story sometime for ur enjoyment! Naturally it will involve a blackguard (mine) that goes through the story of Hordes… fun fun. WOOT! Got the ice beam on metroid prime (finnaly) but now im stuck again : ( oh well. Oh, and don't worry, loyal evil reviewers, lotsa people die in horrific ways…muahahha… ok, here is part two, so ENJOY!

The Umber Hulks swarmed forward and Jachal's mind was suddenly filled with rage and sadness. He picked up his greatsword and began to lash out and the wave of beasts, killing them where they stood, but they just kept coming. Eventually Jachal would tire out, and even he knew this….

Suddenly strength and evil thoughts welled up inside Jachal's head. He knew what was about to happen. Whenever he tired out during a long battle, his demonic side would take over. It was vital to win this fight with the aid of his other side, but he didn't know what it would do to Tomia, but Jachal's thoughts were lost among the turbulent sea of vengeful thoughts…

Jachal snapped back to reality thirty minutes later, surprised at the carnage his other side had done. Umber Hulk parts lay everywhere (ANand I mean EVERYWHERE), and the "leader" had been smashed to a pulp (ANquite literally). Then Jachal remembered Tomia and frantically turned around to see if she was all right. Tomia still lay in the same position Jachal had left her in, but she wasn't moving. Fearing the worst, Jachal ran over to Tomia to get a better look and to prove his eyes wrong. Tomia was not breathing and her face had gone pale. Jachal felt for a pulse and found none. Tears began to stream down his face, but he fought them back. _It's not fair_, he thought. _WHY? Is it my fault? Did I let her die while fighting?_ Jachal's sorrow was interrupted by a calm voice from behind him. He whirled around to see a man enveloped in glowing light, missing his right hand. "**Do not fret, Jachal. I was watching from the heavens the moment you laid eyes upon her. She is very special indeed. She will return when you need her most, that is all I have to say."** With those last words Tyr's manifestation vanished and Jachal was left alone. He turned back towards Tomia's body, only to find it had disappeared. Jachal sighed, dried his face, and gathered up his belongings (ANTomia's stuff disappeared also) and headed out the cavern the way they came in.

Two weeks later Jachal finally stepped foot onto Targos' soil. He kept his head down so that none could see the tears that were frozen on his face. He stumbled into the Tyrran temple, only to be slugged in the face by the High Priest.

"Where in the nine Hells have you been, tiefling? It doesn't matter now; the former High Priest is dead. You will be severely punished for your dawdling!" With that the newly installed High Priest of Tyr whipped out his mace and struck Jachal across the face. Jachal took the blow like it was nothing, when, in fact, it hardly even made a scratch.

"You call that punishment?" Jachal asked. The High Priest was stunned and said nothing as Jachal walked by him and handed his report to the clergymen. Turning back to the High Priest, Jachal stated," You know, aggravating me like that makes it awfully hard for me to control my demonic side, so I'd watch it if I were you." The High Priest stepped back away from Jachal, then turned around and left the Sanctum in a hurry. Jachal smirked, then retreated to his quarters and sat on his bed. The walls of his room currently had seals carved into them, in hopes that the clergy could keep Jachal contained there. Unfortunately for Jachal, he just noticed them. He bolted for the door, but was struck back by a force of energy from the seals on the door. Cursing loudly, he knocked his bed over and sat against it, mumbling to himself. He dozed off and awoke when a clergyman came in with some food, unaffected by the seals. The man paused at Jachal, who was glaring at him, then glanced at the overturned bed before he put the tray on the desk.

"So tell me, good man, why have you all conspired against me?" Jachal asked snidely.

The clergyman turned to Jachal and smiled. "Simply because you are a being of evil, and we cannot allow others to see you serving Tyr as a being of good. It defies the nature of all that is good and evil." The man left in a rush when Jachal picked up his lantern and threatened to throw it at him. When the man left, Jachal set the lantern down and sighed.

MEANWHILE…

The clergy had congregated in the Sanctum that evening to discuss business.

"All rise for the High Priest Toumaffar, devout Servant of Tyr," the announcer said.

Everyone stood up as the High Priest walked in and they sat down when he took a seat.

"Okay, what business is there to be had tonight?" he asked the clergy. One of the clergy, a respected cleric of Tyr, rose up. "We still have the issue with that tiefling paladin, your Honor. I sent one of my clergy to give food to the abomination, and the beast had overturned his bed and was about to throw a lantern at him while he set the food down."

Toumaffar put his hand on his chin and thought. "We can't exactly kill him, he does follow Tyr… anyone have any suggestions?" The clergy stayed silent. Toumaffar shrugged. "Very well, then. Let us eat." As the clergy was chowing down on the succulent delights that had been set before them, a diviner started to choke. "Ashan, what is wrong?" Toumaffar asked. Sputtering out his words, he said something that made the clergy tremble before his head blew up. A portal to the Hells has opened in Targos. At that moment a horde of demons burst through the doors and began to feast upon the clergy (ANsee? I can be evil.) Meanwhile, Jachal had finished his mediocre meal in his "prison." He heard a commotion downstairs, but thought nothing of it; that is, until the seals faded away and a Balor ripped apart the door and paused at Jachal. "Demon-blooded human, you are an abomination of our kind! For that, you must DIE!" the Balor roared. The Balor charged at Jachal, greatsword cutting through the ceiling. Jachal threw himself underneath the Balor and out between its legs. He turned around in time to see the Balor crash through the wall and out onto the streets below. Jachal used this opportunity to escape from the now-in-flames temple of Tyr. Jachal stared at the temple for a long time, watching the flames climb higher and higher, finally reaching the Tyrran symbol at the top. Severe rumbling, similar to an earthquake, distracted Jachal. He saw the ground split beneath the temple, then watched in horror as it collapsed into the gash in the ground. His home… the only home that he had ever known, was now fifty feet below the ground and still going. However, the gash was still growing and it threatened to swallow up Jachal as well, had he not ran away from it back towards the docks. As he left the temple's gates, chaos consumed him. People panicking and running as devils, fiends, and demons chased after them. A devil was playing an unfriendly match of tug-of-war with a demon over the carcass of a horse. A gang of demons was raping women out in the open. Children were being torn limb from limb by fiends (ANmaybe too evil…). Jachal mind switched gears as a dark shadow came behind him. He whirled around only to be grabbed by the throat by a Balor Lord. Lifted high off the ground, Jachal struggled to breathe against the gripping hand of the Balor Lord and the demon's foul breath. Suddenly a flash of white light disintegrated the demon into dust. Regaining his momentum, Jachal picked himself up off the ground and found himself staring at Tomia. They stared at each other for a moment, but it didn't last long when the ground erupted behind Tomia and lava started spurting out at an ever-increasing rate. "Jachal! It's too late for Targos; we need to save as many people as we can! There's boats already out in the water, we just have to put as many people as we can into them!" Tomia yelled over the chaos. Jachal nodded and ran off to a group of people who were trying to fend off a pit fiend with various items. Drawing his greatsword, he cleaved the fiend's head right off and scooped all 6 of the remaining people up in his arms and took off flying. For once, Jachal had complete control over his demonic side. He dropped the startled group off on a piece of roof that was floating in the bay and went back for more. Tomia, on the other hand, had been caught up in slaying as many of the outsiders as possible. She soon found the portal to the Hells and prayed to Tyr for help. Tomias hands were soon enveloped in a brilliant white light, and Tomia pulled the portal shut. She then swung around with her godly hammer and smashed an oncoming horde of devils. Jachal had saved as many people as he could, the joined Tomia in destroying every last one of the outsiders (ANsorry about that, evil reviewers…). Two very large and strong hands grabbed Tomia and Jachal around the torso and lifted them up. The pair found themselves staring face-to-face with a very powerful demon lord. The demon sneered and spoke. "Heheheheh… so, you are my so-called son, eh? I didn't know that you would turn out so…good." Jachal was silent and stunned. After all this time, it would be his father that he would find first, and not his mother. "HA! All you tieflings are basically the same; always willing to try and forget about your demonic heritage-" The demon was cut off as hiss leg was pierced by a holy arrow. Screaming in agony, the demon dropped Jachal and Tomia and turned to try and find his new assailant. There, standing on the roof of a ruined building, was an elven woman with silvery-blonde hair flowing behind her, holding up a holy-imbued longbow….

YAY another chappie finished! 3 guesses as to who the woman is lol… ok, heres the lowdown. Tomia is a 15/12 druid/shifter and Jachal is a 20 paladin. There, you happy now? HUH? God…im grounded from EverCrack (EverQuest)… waah… anyways, another chappie is coming soon, so STAY TUNED!


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